In one of the most militant job actions Canada has seen in recent memory, workers at the Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan — locked out by their employer since December 5 over a contract dispute — have blockaded the 544-acre facility, preventing scabs from getting in and petroleum from getting out.

The workers are members of Unifor, the country’s largest private-sector union. Unifor Local 594 represents about 800 employees at the refinery, which is owned by Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) — a major company that posted a record $1.2 billion in profits in 2018. The refinery supplies petroleum products to FCL groceries, gas stations, and hardware stores across Western Canada.

Unifor and FCL hit an impasse in contract negotiations last fall. The company is trying to restructure the workers’ pensions, making each employee individually choose between either paying into the existing defined plan (which FCL has always paid into entirely) or switching to a less stable, 401(k)-style contribution plan. The union says such a change would lead to a nearly 50 percent cut in retirement benefits, after FCL previously promised not to touch pensions.